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Thursday, August 31, 2017

Coming together back in 2011, Spanish melodic power metallers Náyades stuck through a horde of lineup struggles and turmoil to eventually get ready to unleash their varied influences that go from the sharpest heavy rock to the coolest and most melodic hard rock. Now able to offer their first professional release, the groups’ debut full-length was self-released January 20, 2017.

When this one gets going, it manages to feature plenty of strong, sparkling elements present in the genre into a solid, enjoyable debut. “Blackwings to the Moonlight,” “Buyer of Souls” and “No Tomorrow” all make great use of strong speed-metal riffing patterns, giving this one a tight melodic sound that works rather nicely here. The up-tempo tracks are given a fine sheen here with the melody-driven riff-work going alongside the charging rock-based rhythms to create a rather strong and engaging presence. The album’s other dominating factor, the hard-rock based stylings of efforts like “Losing Control,” “Ghost of Myself” and “Forever” give this a stark contrast with the vast majority of this being based on a mid-tempo chug that lets the melody waiver in exchange for a more straightforward approach that isn’t as lively or energetic here based on the shorter rhythm patterns than the speed metal factors found elsewhere which is the biggest drawback here. This one works much better as a stronger power metal release than a hard rock offering, which is what’s the bigger aspect of the band’s sound and it does leave a slightly distressing sound here. Thankfully, this isn’t that big of a deal being a debut effort so it does get a slight pass on some of these issues.

Although it does lose some of its steam by dropping the power metal for the hard rock at times, the fact that the enjoyable power metal keeps it afloat even during the lighter sections manages to give this just enough for those looking for hard rock-flavored or even melody-accented power metal. 7.5/10

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Building off their previous effort, Finnish death metallers Enragement have carried their distinct brand of extreme metal together which brings together nearly every facet of the style simply to add together an air of disturbing menace for the songs. Following a three-year gap between previous releases, the groups’ sophomore effort was released June 9, 2017 on Inverse Records.

From the beginning, this one is based around the concept of the different exploits of extreme metal in most of its guises to cultivate a powerful and explosive sound. Efforts like “River of Corpses,” “Raining Bodyparts” and “Mass of a Thousand Suns” tend to focus mostly on the tight, ravenous riff-work that is prominent throughout here, offering this one a dirty, blackened sound when used in conjunction with the swirling tremolo churning patterns that are featured. Given that these are generally the faster, more frantic efforts those score far more favorably here when compared to the album's variance of including other forms of this kind of music. These tracks, like “Divine Catatonia,” “Ashen Unity” and “Armed Redeemer” focus more on a series of technically-challenging stuttering style rhythms that are quite bland overall, offering little in the way of energy or enjoyment with the way they just sort of blandly bounce around on limp, flaccid rhythms that are exceptionally limp and rarely manage any kind of exceptionally enjoyable formats. It has all of these elements present in the second half as well which does make the album incredibly disproportionate, with all the big energetic efforts up-front and then placing all the other efforts afterward which drops the energy of this one rather significantly. Otherwise, it’s still rather fun for the most part.

While it does come undone a little when it comes to the drop-off of energy in the second half compared to the first half, this one does come across with enough to really like in terms of their rather frantic attack that makes this a solid and worthwhile choice for fans of modern death metal. 7.5/10

Monday, August 28, 2017

Building further upon their style, US power metallers Insatia have added to a grand start already by bringing forth even more of their clear, sparkling sound alongside a bevy of special guests to help them spread their powerful sound even further. With a four-year gap in releases and new members in lead guitarist Kaelen Sarakinis and drummer Daniel Millan, the groups’ sophomore release was originally released June 23, 2017 on Pitch Black Records.

Much like their past works, the group is still working quite heavily in the same realms as far as their sound goes which makes for a rather fun time. Efforts like “Act of Mercy,” “Sacred” and the title track are still rather impactful in their adopting of mid-tempo chugging rhythms for the vast majority of their work throughout the album which makes for a solidified, simplistic sound which goes rather nicely towards the main selling point here of providing sharp, clear-sounding rhythms. As this set-up provides the album with the opportunity to feature some strong melodies from the keyboards blaring along throughout here as efforts like “We Are the Grey,” “Captor and Captive” and “Healer of Hatred” all utilize some sparkling elements alongside the fine mid-tempo chugging elements. Overall, there’s plenty to like here with the basic attack, it does come upon one main critical factor here in that the album is oftentimes so glossy in its melodies that it oftentimes loses its bite. The main focus here is on commercial rhythms and it causes the album to sound rather flat and one-dimension regardless of the solid riff-work and engaging rhythms featured here. In the end, these here are what lower this one only slightly.

While nowhere near what it could’ve been, the fact that there’s still quite a lot to really like here with this one manages to hold up the vast majority of the album into being a solid choice for fans of sparkling, melody-driven simplistic power metal or those that enjoy female-fronted melodic metal. 8/10

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Terra Incognita, with a line-up of front man Billy Vass, guitarists Stellios Zoulias and Manos Kehagias, drummer Dimitris Kokonezis en bassist Tolis A., is a melodic metal band from Greece's capital Athens which was formed in 2010. One year after their formation, they already released their debut, called Barren Land. Last year they released their second effort, an EP titled Sign With Blood.

Sign With Blood's first song, My Emptiness, is in my opinion not very representative for this EP, Production-wise this track is not that good, it all sounds a bit flat. Billy Vass' vocals even sound a bit forced in this one to me. So far, this EP is not really impressing me, as a result of the aforementioned reasons. Fortunately, the other tracks on Sign With Blood sounds a lot better, starting with Conquerer, the second track. Right from the first notes it sounds heavier and more solid, now holding your attention. Now, you can really hear these men know how to handle their instruments and Billy Vass' vocals are also more pleasant to listen to. From Conquerer till end it sounds more energetic and convincing.

Since 2015, guitarist Stellios Zoulias also picked up the cello for Terra Incognita, which adds an extra element in their music. In Conquerer the cello was not that convincing for me, but in the third track, title-track of this EP, it really adds something extra. However, in my opinion, Terra Incognita can use the cello a bit more and not that much in the background. Last track on Sign With Blood is titled Efialtes, a track Terra Incognita already released on Barren Land, their full-length from 2011, but this time it is an English version of it.

These Greek melodic metallers did a good job with Sign With Blood. First track is, in my opinion, not that good, but the other three tracks make it up very well. So, you dig melodic metal? Be sure to check Sign With Blood!

Friday, August 25, 2017

In March, Russian thrash metallers Pokerface released their new album Game On. DutchMetalManiac's Tim van Velthuysen recently interviewed them, read it below!

Hey, how are you?

LadyOwl (vocal): Hey, everyone! We are good, preparing for a new tour with Nervosa!

What made you decide Pokerface was the right name for your band?

Doctor (drums): Well. I'm not sure if this name is very original, but I'm pretty sure that it's better than thousands unrememberable names of metal bands. You know, you are reading metal webzines and thinking like "what the f*cking medical encyclopedia is that?". I'll tell you the truth - first our tracks were covers on Slayer, Venom and Motorhead. We are playing "Ace Of Spades" every show, you know. And "Pokerface" as a name is Motorhead's "Ace Of Spades" spin-off. All of us were influenced by Lemmy. He is a Legend.

You play thrash metal. What is it that makes Pokerface unique within the style of thrash metal?

Ritter (guitar): Pokerface is "all-kinds-of-thrash-metal", depends on album. The band collects best of the best from thrash (and some other genres) and makes its own sound. The main feature is extreme female vocals, which add some craziness to the band's sound. It's growl, scream sometimes, and in some songs even clean. Also the band's visit card is bright killer riffs, fast machine-gun drums and the absence of unnecessary complexity in songs. Pure, simple, juicy thrash metal.

In March, you released your latest album, called Game On, how are the responses so far?

mrGeneSimmons (bass): Responses were pretty good, both from critics and fans. And I'm glad that critics, who reviewed our previous album "Divide and Rule", give the new album higher marks in general. So, I can say, that this is a step in the right direction.

When you compare Game On with your earlier releases, Divide And Rule (2015) and Terror Is The Law (2014), what do you notice?

Doctor: Unbelievable, you're asking me, who was the biggest critic of a new release! Ok, challenge accepted! "Game On" has more commercial sound, riffs are more melodic, there are more grooves in rhytm section and various vocals. It sounds different. I really recommend "Game On" for wide community. But what about me - I love so much "Terror..." and "Divide...". Harder and stronger.

What is the story behind Game On and the lyrics?

LadyOwl: "Game on" is not an ordinary album consisted of separated songs, but has its own deep sense and concept. All songs have kind of certain line and different games of chance, casino theme, inner monsters and fears of people who seek for simple ways to solve difficult self-problems inspired their conception. Everyone knows that the most simple way as usual is not the right one, but being under the social pressure force the hero of this album to make aggressive and cruel decisions. His own behavior puts him into a trap of greed, fear and betrayal. His inner problems appear in images of monsters like Bone Reaper and Fatal Scythe, which hunt him and lead to the deeper layer of his own subconscious. The games that demons make him to play are in general the ways to solve these personal problems. The hero tries this different ways each of which leads to loss of all he earned during his entire life. The labyrinth with no beginning, no end no exit. But the diamonds are formed only under the great pressure and temperature, and the hero of this album is not the exception. In the end of his struggle, he understands, that the main treasure he owns is himself as a person, and until he remembers who he is, he is winner in all dreadful demons' games and the one who won his own life and right to live as a strong-willed person.

The artwork of Game On is done by Jobert Mello. How did you met him and what made him the right person for this job?

mrGeneSimmons: He contacted me by e-mail when we were searching for a designer. I checked his works and decided to try to work with him. After several attempts we got the artwork that was cool enough to go to production.

You formed in 2013, but already played with some great bands. What is the most memorable moment you have while touring?

Doctor: My favourite moment - Sodom support in 2014. It was a first gig with slam, stage diving and circle pits. The first time when we've caught proud and faith in our music. I'm always recalling moments in backstage with Sodom's guys, lighting talks with Mille Petrozza from Kreator, unforgetable minutes.

LadyOwl: Ugh, hard to say now really, all big-name tours and shows were without me, I joined the band in 2016 only hahah, but if we are talking about touring generally, I would notice last tour that we had at all. It was pretty hard, but awesome at the same time, we were travelling with 4 nice bands and felt like a family :) a lot of fun.

Ritter: I don't have such a big touring experience as my colleagues, but I can remember our party-van was climbing over the Slovakia mountains. Apparently, we entered the country through some sort of back entrance. It was April, but suddenly we saw the snow over there. It was a really nice trip - forests, mountains, small rivers, old castles and serpentine. Although we had to stop a couple of times because of the engine overheating, our colleague in another van (with our support band) even needed to repair a car that day.

Speaking about touring, can we expect some new Pokerface shows soon? How about The Netherlands for example?

mrGeneSimmons: Yes, we are thinking about the new EU tour and the Netherlands will be there for sure :) Also if things become bigger, we can manage the USA tour. Follow our FB page for the latest news!

You are from Moscow, Russia, how is the Russian metalscene?

Ritter: We have some metal bands with big names. Almost all of them are trying to make business outside - mostly in EU and USA, because Russian fans are not used to see good and professional bands from Russia and they are sure that any Russian band is a piece of sh*t in advance. It's not their fault - our scene was formed after Slayer and Metallica have come here. So now there are also many perfect local bands with no chance to be famous due to different reasons and tons of metal fans that will never come to a local band show.

Also, in Russia it's all about vicious circle. Lack of music culture: nobody think that music can be a serious business, except pop-music, of course. No professionalism, only fun and beer, no hardworking, and, as a result, lots of low-grade music bands that turn away people from going to gigs and supporting underground metal. No support, no money. The circle is closed.

Any bands you would recommend from Russia?

Ritter: Grond, Arkona, Katalepsy, Autumn Aurora - strongly recommend!

Any future plans for Pokerface you can already tell us about?

mrGeneSimmons: As I said, we will start planning the next EU tour shortly. And will meanwhile announce a new band line-up.

Thanks for your answers! Is there anything you want to say to our readers?

Doctor: If to rephrase George Carlin's speech - I don't care about metal without fans, but without metal we'll be f*cked. Listen to true music and stay metal!

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Formed just in 2014, London-based symphonic black metallers Formicarius launched themselves onto the world with a solid opening single that quickly earned them recognition in the world over their blazing mix of bombast and old-school symphonic glory. Quickly ushering forth a professional album, the groups’ full-length debut was released July 21, 2017 on Schwarzdorn Production.

From the start, this one manages to announce its intentions of offering frantic, overpowering rhythms and dynamic bombastic that is on display here. Tracks like “Lake of the Dead,” “Overlord” and “Where the Gods Go to Die” showcase the bands’ blazing symphonic fury as the fiery tremolo riff-work, pummeling drumming and buzzing keyboards shimmering along in the background make for quite the striking balance of finely-tuned aggression and dynamics. That the vast majority of the music is played in that fast, frantic style makes for quite a fun tactic as the slightly technical riffing adds an extra dimension to the patterns utilized here with the powerful drumming and fiery keyboards alongside the main rhythms. Despite these fine elements throughout here, it’s still somewhat plagued by a minor issue here in so efforts like “Under Darkness” and “A Requiem for the Bloodborn” are somewhat weaker in their rhythms as the focus to weaker riffing and simple riff-structures which makes these the blander tracks here. Since they’re also the shorter ones, that does makes this one somewhat more enjoyable the longer it goes on since the time allows for greater dynamics in the riffing arrangements and is a possible avenue to explore on future albums. As it stands, this is still a rather fun and engaging debut.

With only a few minor problematic issues that pop up throughout here, the fact that this one comes off as engaging and enjoyable as it does for being a debut offering without any kind of pre-release efforts for the group makes them a fun candidate to follow in the future for aficionados of symphonic black metal. 8.5/10

Written by Don Anelli

Formicarius was also mentioned earlier by Tim van Velthuysen in the Black Metal Edition (part 5) of Promoting Bands here.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Coming together in 2014, Turkish black/thrash metallers Persecutory have ultimately come together to bring forth a ritualistic and far more chilling take on the traditional extreme metal scene by bringing out the morbid take in their music which becomes quite grotesque. Finally able to release their first professional release, the bands’ full-length debut was originally released July 1, 2017 on Godz ov War Productions.

From the beginning, this here is quite the devastating blend of influences that manage to provide plenty of sterling work overall for their first impression. Efforts like “Pillars of Dismay,” “Till Relentless Salvation Comes” and “Awakening the Depraved Era” offer a strong blast of swirling tremolo-laced riffing filled with rabid, chaotic thrashing patterns that lets the material explore darkened atmospheres quite prominently. With the rumbling rhythms alongside these furious patterns and being able to shift through a rather dynamic series of rhythm changes by going for sweeping epics, blasting thrash-infused black metal or tight, churning mid-tempo efforts that are fully laced with strong tremolo melodies that further the black metal aesthetic of these such like on the title track or “Along the Infernal Hallways.” Being able to explore these elements of the extreme side gives this a lot more to play with than expected and really means this one can flow through a variety of different approaches which manages to give this one a lot to like. The one problem that pops up with this approach is the fact that there’s very little about it that is able to stand-out overall, keeping everything in one strong note for its approach that makes it really hard to pick anything out here when it gets going. Still, this one can get overlooked as the band explores their sound more.

Getting in a rather strong series of likes with a few minor issues that don’t really mean much in the end, this one manages to have a lot to really like here for the band going forward and really has a lot to appeal for fans who appreciate the slimy, grotesque old-school black/death metal scene or these extreme metal offerings. 8.5/10

Monday, August 21, 2017

Aiming for their own take on the genre, Spanish black/death metal newcomers Atrexial have decided to come together rather quickly with the aim of fusing the brutality of Death Metal with the elegance and darkness of Black Metal under the influence of different subgenres. Quickly offering forth their first professional release, the bands’ full-length debut was originally self-released April 4th, 2017 before a CD reissue May 30, 2017 on Godz ov War Productions.

Once this one gets going, its rather strong and charging atmosphere makes for a stand-out impression of what’s on display throughout here. Tracks like “The Hideous Veil of Innocence,” “Under the Scourge of Lamashtu” and “Illuminator” prominently display furious old-school style swirling tremolo riff-work with plenty of dark atmospherics in the rhythms to add a charging ferocity to the work. By adding a deep, churning style to the ravenous blackened sections throughout here, there’s a grandiose sense of dynamics present that truly mix together the different genre aesthetics really well as the heaviness of the death metal rhythms goes hand-in-hand with the raw, ferocious black metal tone. When those are dragged away in “Catharsis Through Torment,” “Unmerciful Imperial Majesty” or “The Ominous Silence” which exchanges the churning rhythms for more straightforward tremolo riffing and full-on blasting charges in the tempos which offer a more traditional black metal sound and is quite a fun variety due to the solid changeover that occurs with these rhythms. The biggest detriment to the album is the rather obvious one, its running time here due to the unnecessary track-length, for there’s no reason this one should go into the double-digits here. With an intro, outro and an instrumental interlude all clogging things up, this could’ve been trimmed down some by eliminating most of those and carrying on as normal, yet that manages to be the most obvious flaw here.

Overall, this one doesn’t have too much to dislike here as the main attack manages to contain a lot of positive elements that are certainly enjoyable enough, even with the overloaded running time because of too many tracks, so even with that it still will appeal to fans of black/death metal in general. 9/10

Diana Rising was formed in 2012, can you tell us something about the history and the members?

We come from Mulhouse, France. Close to the German and Switzerland borders.
Yet, we still have 3 members who created the band, Pierre (drum), David (Bass) and I (Loïc, lead Guitar). Actually, I meet the band following an internet announce. Dje, our singer joined us during the first tour. He replaces our singer in place caused he didn’t want to tour. After the first adventure, Djé never leaved the band. For Arnaud, it’s a bit different, we changed several times the rhythmic guitarist. after our European tour, our former guitarist left caused of his work carrier. Arnaud, who followed the band since the beginning was directly ready and motivated to take the position.
Now I think we are a strong team of friends playing together and ready for the next.

Diana Rising, why did you decide this was the right name for the band?

Actually, we decided it in a bar in Mulhouse, where we are from. In this bar there is a bibliotheca we loved to spend free time. One evening we choose random book to associate words and ideas. I was expecting for a girl’s name, like my last band. And after several drinks and books, we agreed about DIANA RISING. And it characterize us as well with the energy we share between us and with the public.

Your music is categorized as metalcore. What makes Diana Rising unique in this style?

DIANA RISING is between deathcore and metalcore. We associate strong and heavy voices, with more melodic and powerfull guitars. We want to save this brutal aspect of the music but the music become more and more melodic.

You recently released your first full-length, Stars Can't Shine Without Darkness, after 2 EP's, Eon Through The Myst (2014) and Guardians (2015). How does it feel to finally have your first full-length released?

We feel really proud of it. Firstly because we do everything by ourself (expect the mix/master) and secondly because it as result of the beginning of the Diana Rising adventure. We are also proud to have our first album in our hand and it’s really symbolic to an artist.

What are the responses so far about Stars Can't Shine Without Darkness?

SCSWD received good critics by professional people and by our fans. It gives us a more professional approach of the band.

When you compare Stars Can't Shine Without Darkness with your two earlier EP's, what is it you notice?

The principal difference in the production. The composition of song is more elaborated and it told a different story. This album songs are so much better than our EP’s and it’s more easier to going through the complete album.

What is the story behind Stars Can't Shine Without Darkness and the lyrics of the tracks on it?

SCSWD is telling a story about us and a hard period for members of Diana. Difficult loves stories, life problems, etc. It's a translation of what we felt during this period and it’s a bit an exorcising of all these difficulties. Then the album is released to close this.

This year, Diana Rising exists 5 years, anything special planned to celebrate it?

We didn’t think about this, but yes we have to celebrate it. At the end of the year, we have a show in our home town Mulhouse. We will have a party will all our friends present and local band friends.

At this moment you've only announced two future concerts, in France and Germany. Can we expect some more Diana Rising shows? Maybe in The Netherlands?

We currently work on a tour in the spring in East Europe. We came in Amsterdam after the first tour but only to celebrate it J
It would be a with pleasure to play in The Netherlands, if someone reading this wanted to book us, please let us know by e-mail at dianarisingband@gmail.com.

Any other future plans for Diana Rising you can already tell us about?

For the moment we play our show for the album SCSWD. In September, we will add an artist who will perform during our show, who will start at the show in Nantes, France.
Beginning of 2018 we will start composing new singles of the next album.

Thanks for your answers! Is there anything you want to say to DutchMetalManiac's readers?

Thanks to give us your time to read this and to listen to our album and EP's. It was a pleasure to give more details about ourselves and our project. It would be a pleasure to meet all of you in a show in the Netherlands or elsewhere.
Thank you.

Friday, August 18, 2017

A distinct pleasure to hear this! After 2 other albums, sharing stages with the likes of Arch Enemy and Entombed, the ‘Swedish Sextet’ brings up the ante in contemporary metal. Stylish in their suits, they are another breath of fresh metal while being clearly professional and adept at their playing. There is a complexity to the music but also a straightforward hammer that instantly gets you jumping.

While their obvious hit, ‘Ashes’ is fantastic with its hammering drums and melodic-rock feel combined with some truly screaming vox, I am taking a huge liking to ‘All That It Takes’; meaningful and atmospheric, it brings to mind the band Default, with powerful harmonies and grinding chords.

‘Monster’ is just that – a monster hit. Superb vocals and feel to this, and is that a female guest vocalist? This adds yet another layer to this great song. Hopefully a video to follow as this has made it to my favourites playlist! Killer tune; I like it more than your actual hit!

An interesting tune in ‘If You Believe’ as the shortest one at just 3 minutes, it captivates as it is not really metal but a harder rock, with some punk overtones with a neat mix of keyboards and a catchy hook. This might be another hit – nicely done.

The rest of the record smokes with beautiful intros such as in “Carry On”, great harmonies and smatterings of keyboards that complement the guitars, all kept together by energetic and clear beats.

As the record progresses, I find it is less metal and harder than hard rock but artfully done nonetheless. Anthems shouted out in ‘Train Wreck’ have “concert halls” written all over them: Save our souls indeed!

Finishing with ‘One Hour Stranger’, a heavier rocker that rounds out the album nicely and keeps the expected tone. The rising sense of the music is brought to an end with this captivating song; not my fave, but masterfully done lads!

Thursday, August 17, 2017

And don't forget: if you want to be featured in an upcoming part of Promoting Bands, send us an email, Facebook or Twitter message!

Here is part 12 for you, enjoy \m/

Tim van Velthuysen

1. Infant Meat Shield

These five guys from Zwolle, The Netherlands started to play their old school death metal with thrash influences not that long ago, but they already have an EP released. It's called Dead Age, contains 5 tracks and was released on May 6th, 2017. When you dig old school death, you should take a listen to this EP. You can do so below, hope you like it. If you want to see Infant Meat Shield live you can do so at Metal Madness Zundert on October 14th in Zundert or at Sounds From The Underground on January 27th in Emmeloord.

In 2015, Tunisian metallers Carthagods released their latest album, which was self-titled. Now, they are back! They recently announced their upcoming EP, which will be called The Devil's Dolls. Below you can check their lyric video of the title-track of it. These metallers from Tunisia are definetely worth listening to, so be sure to follow them!

On September 29th, the Venezuelan-American progressive metallers of Sifting will release new album. It will be called Not From Here and is their second full-length after All The Hated (2013). Not From Here will be released via Eclipse Records, which they recently signed with. Below, you can already listen to their first single from Not From Here, enjoy!

Asgrauw, three guys hailing from Groesbeek, The Netherlands, recently released their latest effort. These black metallers shared a split with Meslamtaea, called Utopia. Meslamtaea is a one-man-band which is also playing black metal. However, the man behind Meslamtaea is surely not unknown to Asgrauw, as it is their own drummer. You can listen to Utopia below and when you want to see Asgrauw live, be sure to be at their gig with Infinity, Ibex Angel Order and Tsjuster at Kiehool Burgum, September 23.

Witherfall is the dark melodic metal band of Jake Dreyer (Iced Earth, Kobra And The Lotus, White Wizzard), Joseph Michael (White Wizzard) and the late Adam Sagan (Circle II Circle, Into Eternity). In February they released their debut, Nocturnes And Requiems, of which you can check one track, End Of Time, below. Nocturnes And Requiems is dedicated to the life of Adam Sagan, who sadly passed away during the final stages of production. Be sure to check out Nocturnes And Requiems, especially if you are a fan of melodic metal.

These extreme industrial metallers from the UK already released their Gorenado EP in 2014, but recently they released another EP. It will be called Totality and below you can check the titletrack of it, including videoclip. This band is heavy as shit and a band to follow for sure. So watch their video below and prepare to be blown away!

Katla, what is that? It's the name of one of Iceland's greatest volcanos, but since a short while there is something else named Katla, which is probably more interesting for you. It's about the new band of ex-Sólstafir drummer/visual artist Guðmundur Óli Pálmason and Einar Thorberg Guðmundsson who you may know from Fortíð and/or Potentiam. They already released a few tracks earlier, but they just released Hyldýpi from upcoming debut full-length Móðurástin, which you can listen below. Móðurástin will be released on October 27th, so mark that date in your agenda.

These doom metallers with, among others, vocalist Eric Wagner (Trouble/The Skull) and guitarist Terry Weston (Dream Death/Penance) already released their debut album, which was self-titled, in 2014. In September their second full-length, When Colors Fade Away, will be released. Below you can watch the lyric video for the titletrack, which sounds really promising. Good job guys!

Swedish folk metal band Midvinterblot released their debut demo Rise Of The Forest King in 2012 and their first EP Gryning in 2015. Last year they finally released their debut full-length, Skymning. Below is the place where you can get your folk metal for now, because there you can listen to the full Skymning album. This is some really nice folk metal and Midvinterblot is a band you have to check for sure, especially if you dig folk metal!

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

In April, French metallers Karma Zero released their second full-length Monsters. DutchMetalManiac's Tim van Velthuysen spoke with guitarist/vocalist Ben and vocalist SaYmon, read it below.

Hey guys, how's life in France?

Ben: Hi, not too bad if we forget the fact that our new president will take away some of our freedoms in order to “fight” against terrorism.

SaYmon: Hey, here in France life is just like every other European countries, with our problems of unemployment and financial crisis, we live in a quite pessimistic period but even though those things we are here and trying to do just like any others, and live the good part of life! Maybe to talk about music we can regret the fact than metal scene here is still seen as an underground scene and it’s quite difficult to organise gigs or events for this kind of music!

Why did you name your band Karma Zero?

SaYmon: At the time we didn’t have a name for the band, or maybe something not definitive like WaitShiva or something like that (we used to put ethnic samples in our tracks, inspired by Indian music etc…) and all our friends told us that it wasn’t really easy to pronounce (for French people anyway…!) so we were searching something else, and we had a song called Karma Zero (again all was about Indian mythology) and everyone in the band agreed about the fact that it sounded great and was easier to remember, so we decided to take that track name for our band!

For people who don't know you, yet, how would you describe your music?

Ben: We make Metal Modern with various influences like Hardcore, Djent, Death and even Black Metal. We write without barriers by simply trying to make a violent music turned towards the live.

SaYmon: Let’s call that KarmaCore XD !!

In April you released your second full-length album called Monsters. What are the responses of press and public so far? How do you feel about that?

Ben: For now we only have positive feedback from our new album, people who follow us are very enthusiastic about the new songs, especially live.

We hope that this momentum will continue and attract more and more people to listen to “Monsters” and come see us on stage.

When you compare Monsters to your first full-length, Architecture Of A Lie, what do you notice? In what way Karma Zero has grown?

Ben: Our sound has changed, it is more accomplished, more personal than before.
We have completely revised our way of composing, everyone is involved and everyone brings a touch.
We've all progressed since Architecture Of A Lie and thanks to that today we know where we want to go.

SaYmon: As Ben said, during composition and reheasals, everyone put his influence into the tracks and we tried to mix those different styles. The point was not to forbid anything, like we could have done before. If a part in a song sounded more like black metal or something that we aren’t used to do, we made it and that’s it! We just tried to have fun and make great music! Maybe that’s why we have grown musically, by composing this way we have found our music and the way we wanna sound.

Ben: What makes me angry is the injustice in this world, for example I am sick of seeing that we are able to raise billions of dollars to make war and at the same time leaving people starving to death.
I try to be a little more optimistic but each day brings disastrous news ...

SaYmon: Quite difficult to answer questions like that, what Ben said is so true! I would add the idea of being manipulated everyday by the medias, everything that we are told in newspapers or on TV and on the internet is always a part of the truth, you always have to compare many sources to find out what’s true or not. It’s like information is some kind of an advertisement for someone or something! Every problem in our society (unemployment , financial crisis…) makes everyone more individualistic or leeds them to radical right and xenophobic opinions, that’s really scary. It’s just like people forgot history…

Can you tell us a bit about the story behind the songs on Monsters?

SaYmon: The idea was to make sort of a concept album base on old monster movies from the 30’s to the 50’s, each song talks about one of those classic monsters and makes a parallel with everyday life, in most of the movies, monsters are called that way just because they are different, and not understood. People are scared by what they cannot understand most of the time, and first reaction is reject in many times. The album and the lyrics talk about that, and classic monster mythology was also a way to give a particular atmosphere to “Monsters” with samples taken from old movies, that was great to create some kind of a word, and tell a story more than a ‘classi” metal album with 10 violent tracks that come one after another without any global idea…

Who are the real monsters in this world for you?

Ben: The real monstrers in this world are us.
Humanity has reached such a level of violence that today generally everyone looks away in order to preserve himself or herself. As long as we are not directly affected we do not react.
I generalize, there are obviously people who move their ass off but I expect above all a reaction of the elite of this world, those who have money and power.
And these people only react in the face of public opinion, so we must all without exception express our indignation against all this shit, boycott and consume differently to finally be heard.

Which track on Monsters is your favorite?

Ben: My favorite song is Buried Alive, it's the last song we wrote for the album and it's also the most violent. It is always a pleasure to play it live, people are very receptive and war breaks out in the pit every time! XD

SaYmon: Like Ben “Buried Alive” is one of my favorite, but I would say that the one I prefer is the one called “Monsters”, maybe that’s one of the less violent in the album, but I love the end of the track, and lyrics summarize the big idea of the album: basically we are all Monsters because as I said before, everyone in his life had to live this moment when all the people around don’t understand you and makes you feel like a monster, just because you are different or you simply have different idea.

You also have one cover track on it, Blind by Korn, why did you choose for that one?

SaYmon: We did not have a precise idea of this cover, the thing is that I had this idea about the intro and the drums that comes with this more energic and rock’n roll vibe, juste before this famous « Are you ready ?! ». So we just started with that and composed together how the track could sound if we started it this different way ! We made it for fun and put in it some of our musical influences we spoke about with your first question!

We didn’t expect so many reactions about it, that was really cool to receive messages about how people liked it! There were also negative reactions, but when you cover such a legendary track like « Blind » from Korn, you cannot expect everyone to like it, but we made it just for fun and to turn it into a thing that we like with our influences and the sound we make and like. We are true Korn fans and we support them since we are kids, we were those ones with baggy jeans and dreadlocks in the 90’s, so we never tried to do better than them, that’s just impossible!

Let’s call it a cover for fun ! ;-)

You have two songs with guest vocalists on Monsters, Julien from Deep In Hate and Emilie from Gravity. How was working with them?

Ben: They are friends, we shared a lot of scenes together and so it was all natural to ask them to sing on our new album. Especially we appreciate their voices and they complement well with Simon’s.

SaYmon: Julien and Emilie who make the featurings on «Swamp Things » and « Horror Films » are friends of us since 2013! We met them with our first album « Architecture of a Lie », and toured with their bands (Julien in CHECKMATE / Emilie in GRAVITY), with that tour we had so much fun and they became true friends, and at that time we already spoke about a collaboration for our upcoming album! So when we had the tracks we contacted them, and they said yes! That was great to work with them, they are really great frontmen!

If you haven’t checked their bands just listen to it! Emilie is the frontwoman of GRAVITY, they will release their 3rd album « Noir » at the end of this year, and Julien is now the singer in DEEP IN HATE and they are about to release « Disobey » their second album soon!

At this time, you have one show confirmed, are more of them coming soon? Maybe somewhere in The Netherlands?

SaYmon: We are actually booking shows in France for the end of 2017, and we are trying to make a European tour, maybe in Netherlands that would be great to play in your country, so if promoters want to book us, don’t hesitate and contact us!!

Any other future plans for Karma Zero you can already tell?

Ben: We are looking for a European tour at the moment and we'll start working on new songs very soon.

SaYmon: New tracks, new clips, and many more… To be continued as they say!!

Thanks for your answers, is there anything you would like to say to DutchMetalManiac's readers?

Ben: Thank you for reading us, check out our new album Monsters and tell us what you think. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

SaYmon: Thank you very much for reading this, listen to our new album and if you like it, download it legally or illegally and give it to your friends!!! Party hard, have fun, and support your local scene!!

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

On March 17, Italian heavy/speed metallers Angel Martyr released their full-length debut Black Book: Chapter One, which is already reviewed by DutchMetalManiac's Don Anelli here. As you can read below, he also interviewed Angel Martyr's vocalist/guitarist Tiziano "Hammerhead" Sbaragli.

Well, first off, let’s talk about the new album. Are you pleased with its reaction so far?

Hi there, well... we didn't expected such a good reaction from all reviews from all the world we received in this period so, it is a great satisfaction for us, but, we don't have to give up with our hard work once we reached this moment!

Do you have a favorite track off the album? What makes it special for you?

Maybe I can say Angel Martyr, because it was the first I wrote when I decided to play guitar again after a long period, it means like a rebirth for me! Anyway, all the tracks mean something and they tell something about my life experience even if implicitly and with the use of some metaphors.

For those that haven't heard of you guys, how would you describe your sound?

Sincerely? This is a question I never asked to myself, as everybody, you listen to music, you let music touching your feelings and your heart, than you embrace your instrument and something happens..... If you search a technical term for this kind of sound and riffing I can just say: HEAVY!

As most fans associate Italian metal with Rhapsody and their ilk, how have you separated yourself from the pack?

Personally we don't like to offense anybody for their music as I sadly saw especially on social networks, we can just say that kind of music doesn't belong to our vision of metal! Everybody should be free to play what they want, and everybody should think about their own business, give the maximun to reach great result and promote at best their job where you know that could be some lovers of the kind!

We always try to play or share our music in the right places where the public we'd like to have is present!

Does being based in the UK as opposed to Italy present any problems with your drummer and the rest of the band?

Now Francesco is living in Barcelona in Spain, anyway no problem, when he can't reach us in some gigs we have a session man called Emanuele Meconi, he's a great drummer too.

Do you find that being a trio create any kind of struggle with this special brand of metal?

Maybe, I don't know exactly, but I can just say that for what we play a power trio is perfect and we like it!

What plans do you have to promote the album as far as tours or videos?

We are planning some gigs in Europe and Italy, we are thinking about a official video and maybe we will search a manager really interested in the project and who believe in it!

So, we’ll end this on a fun note. If you could collaborate with one artist, living or dead, for a single who would you choose?

A page I think is not enough to reply..... hahahahahah! I can say Bruce Dickinson and Ronnie James Dio, but I can talk also for the others if I say that we would like to cooperate with Lemmy, King Diamond, Scott Columbus, Tony Iommi and many others!

Do you wish to say something to our readers?

Just saying thanks from the depth of our hearts to dedicate your time and your passion for us.... don't fear the fight, see you soon bros!

Comity exists since 1996, can you tell us something about how things started?

It started a long time ago! At first we just were a regular modern hxc band, mixing stuffs with some death metal as well. But we were also fans of progressive and experimental music, and when we found out some hxc band were mixing these two worlds, we just decided to try it on our own…

From the original band, the two only members remaining are Francois (guitar) and myself (bass, vocals). So if the band formed in 96, we can consider the band as a real one with the arrival of Yann (second guitar) in 2000. Our drummer Nicolas plays with us since 2007.

When someone, who hasn't heard your music yet, asks you how you would describe your music, what would you answer?

We like to describe our music as “extreme rock’n roll”. The band mixes hxc, noise, black metal, progressive, avant garde … all the sub-genres we enjoy for decades. We just try to mix it in our own way, with a more rock than metal sound.

Recently you released Comity's latest album, A Long, Eternal Fall. What is the response of press and public so far?

It’s been very positive so far! Magazines and webzines which follow us for a long time all describe the record as our best effort. We only have great responses from both public and press and we feel very grateful about it. Everywhere but in Germany. We don’t know why, it may be cultural stuffs, but Germans don’t seem to like the band from the beginning. In 20 years we never played in Germany! We’d really like to.

When you compare A Long, Eternal Fall with your full-length of 2011, The Journey Is Over Now, what do you notice?

For A Long, Eternal Fall we wanted to write shorter songs and to be very careful about its structures. We wanted the record to sound more “straight forward” but in the same time we wanted to keep all that crazyness, with a progressive touch. It’s pretty challenging to have all this in shorter songs. But when I heard our previous L.P I can tell we succeeded and it’s very rewarding.

A Long, Eternal Fall sounds very loud, how did the recording process go?

As usual , we recorded everything live, all together in the studio, and very fast, in less than 6 days.

We really like the way we sound when playing live, we like to hear the natural sound out of our amps. We worked a lot on it. And that’s why we want to find this particular sound on our records.

What is the story behind the cover?

The cover follows the concept behind the lyrics. It comes from a quote of Emile Cioran: “Time is shut, unreachable.” We wanted to keep our visual gimmicks: black and white photos with just a colour added on it. “Time is marching on ruins.” We sent this sentence to Peggy Le Guern, a great artist we absolutely wanted to work with. We asked her to draw a huge clock in it’s very particular way.

She finally added all the characters you can find on the cover.

It represents time as an unreachable mountain, with the human race trying to reach its top.

The tracks on A Long, Eternal Fall, don't have titles, only Roman numbers, what's the reason for doing so?

We also named the tracks like that on our three previous full lengths. As I said all our records are concept-albums, and you can find the same lyrics throughout the whole record. That’s why we don’t give particular names to our songs. And it’s a way as well to unify the record, we want the audience to listen to it in the chosen order.

Your music is very powerful and energetic, how do you bring this live and what does a Comity concert look like?

As I said before , the goal when we are recording is to capture the energy and intensity we deliver when playing live. So a good Comity gig sounds exactly like the record.

Where do you get your inspiration from, within music and besides music?

We get our inspirations from nearly everything, lives we live, the movies we watch, the book we read, paintings… we don’t really get our inspiration from other bands. We’re here for a long time, and so when we discover new bands, and even if we enjoy it I don’t think it does influence Comity’s music. I hope we finally found our own sound, all the music sub-genres you can hear in our music is now “digested” as we say in France.

How has Comity grown since 1996?

We had an almost immediate success with our first album “The Dues Ex Machina As A Forgotten Genius”. Comity surely was the right band at the right time. Since then, it’s been more hazardous, depending on how labels promoted our records, and depending as well on how much we match with the new “hype”, because the underground follows the same path than mainstream music. It’s all about following the new “fashionable” kind of music. And in a year or two it will be another one…

What would you love to do with Comity, that you haven't done before?

We’d like to tour in the U.S, in the U.K and in Germany, three countries we never had the chance to play in. We have a new project we wanted to work on for years, and it’s finally on its way.

We absolutely want to release it in 2018.

Any shows you can already tell us? Maybe in The Netherlands?

For now, most of the gigs are scheduled in France, but I hope we’ll be fortune enough to tour all over Europe and to come back in Netherlands, we didn’t play there for ten years.

Any other future plans for Comity?

Yes, we have a second secret plan that might be out as well very soon, a very personal one.

Both this projects don’t include new Comity material, so we’ll try to release it as fast as possible.

Thanks for your answers! Is there anything you would like to say to our readers?

Thanks for the time you gave us by reading this interview, hope we’ll see you on the road!

Saturday, August 12, 2017

French black/sludge metallers Deliverance recently released CHRST, which is already reviewed here by DutchMetalManiac's Henric van Essen. As you can read below, he also interviewed Deliverance's guitarist Etienne Sarthou.

Hello, how are you?

Fine, thank you!

Thanks for the opportunity to do this interview. You’re based at Ile-de-France, Paris, like many, many other bands. What is it about that particular piece of France that so many bands hail from there?

I'm not sure. I guess the fact that Paris is such a great cultural city helps a bit! A lot of good music comes from Paris and France in general this past years, it’s true.

Sludge and black metal are seemingly very far apart. Why did you decide to combine both in your music?

It just feels natural to mix those elements. I really wanted to keep what I like in black metal: the cold atmosphere, the epic structures, the dissonance and typical vocals, and to add the heaviness of sludge and post metal. But there's plenty of different stuff in music we love which have a direct impact on what we do.

I have been told your band name comes from the seventies cult movie ‘Deliverance’. Is this true? And if so, what is the connection between you and that movie?

I just love this movie! And I think there's something really dark and twisted in this movie that connects with our music.

Deliverance is not yet a well-known band. Can you tell us a little bit about its history and its members?

For the past 20 years, I've been playing drums with French metal act AqME. I also work quite a bit as a recording and mixing engineer. I met Pierre when I recorded his previous band Memories Of A Dead Man. I thought he had a perfect voice for a bunch of songs I had in mind. That's how it all began. We worked on our first EP called "Doomsday, Please" which we released only on vinyl. Then Sacha joined the band on bass (he's a famous French tattoo artist), as well as Fred on drums (Junior Rodriguez, BLVL...) and Julien (who also plays with me in AqME).

Congratulations with ‘CHRST’, I think it’s a very impressive album. How did the creative process leading to it take place?

Thank you, I'm really glad you like it! We took our time because we wanted to do a great first album. I actually had a double album in mind, but I realized it was a bit too much to swallow for the listener. And probably for us too. So we decided to focus on the best songs and the album became only stronger with just those six songs.

Who is or are the creative masterminds behind the music of Deliverance?

It’s Pierre and I. I write the music, Pierre writes the lyrics. Usually I work at home. When I feel that the song is good, we start playing it with the other guys and Pierre takes whatever time he needs to write lyrics and develop the concept behind the song.

Where do you get your inspiration for the music and lyrics?

Music wise, I listen to a lot of different kinds of music. From pop, rock, to the most extreme forms of metal. I'm obsessed with songwriting, which means that music needs to follow what I consider a logical and natural path. So as long as the music is well written according to my personal standards, it can have a direct impact on what I write. Lyrics wise, Pierre reads a lot of philosophy and literature, in which he finds a never-ending inspiration. Famous writer "Dostoievsky" have had a tremendous impact on Pierre and the concept behind CHRST.

One of the things that struck me when listening to ‘CHRST’ is the compelling, oppressing atmosphere it breaths. Is this a deliberate choice?

Yes definitely. But we need contrast to enhance this feeling of oppression. This is why we have many different atmospheres and "quiet" parts in this record. Heaviness becomes even heavier that way!

A release of this quality sets the standards and expectations very high for the future. How do you feel about that?

We're all really happy and proud of CHRST. I Still can't find anything I would change in this album. It gives us a big deal of confidence for our next record. We have a lot of great ideas we will develop in the near future, we actually already have worked on a bunch of really cool new songs.

Speaking of future, how do you see your future?

Concerts and records... Some more concerts and some more records! Deliverance is here to stay, we still have a lot to give.

Do you have touring plans? And if so, is Holland on the to-visit-list?

We have a bunch of concerts coming in France. But we definitely want to play abroad. Holland would be great of course!

Once again thanks for your time, is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Friday, August 11, 2017

Let’s start this review with a little challenge: Try to imagine yourself what a reggae singer doing a rap to the rhythm of a heavy guitar riff would sound like. Failed? No worries, you’re most likely not alone. Succeeded? Congratulations, you have a pretty good idea of what Zeroscape stands for, although in all honesty the above challenge in no way covers the true value of their work, being described a hell of a lot more simplified than it actually is. This Toronto, Canada based quartet has created an entirely new genre called ragga-metal by mixing reggae, rap and metal since their founding back in 2001, following the belief that every and all type(s) of music can be molten together. I’m the first to admit reading about this unlikely mix caused a few raised eyebrows, but of course I was more than willing to give Binski (vocals), JJ Tartaglia (drums), Speshalizt (guitar) and Matt Hudson (bass) a fair chance to convince me this was and is a good idea. The best way to do that is giving their latest release, a full-length call ‘Finish dem’, a good handful of spins.

The intro is exactly that, with a boxing speaker boasting about the band’s show performance WBA-title-fight-style. It flows into a slightly altered, yet still all too familiar riff made famous by the known-by-all Rocky Balboa movies and performing band Survivor. A brilliant move when you think about it: It conjures a smile of recognition and pleasure on your face while grabbing your attention at the same time. I don’t think there’s a single living soul out there that has not ever heard this piece of music. Anyway, if the song build around the illustrious riff, ‘The Funeral’, could be seen as Zeroscape’s audible business card they might be on to something with their peculiar mix of styles. They immediately put their money where their mouth is, somehow mixing rap, reggae and metal into a coherent, uplifting song. A concept they re-invent with a twist throughout the album, which, I must admit, does not always turn out as good as in ‘The Funeral’.

In my opinion there’s two factors contributing to this. The first being the overkill of styles and genres they use within their songs. There’s various amounts of reggae, rap, ska and whatnot combined with almost every metal genre thinkable to be found making the overall feel somewhat restless and jittery at times. Despite these flaws, none of which are a matter of life and death and which can be solved quite easily, this still is an interesting release. Every single song definitely has potential and to be honest the result of this unlikely marriage of styles more than exceeded my expectations. They got it right most of the time, however, I think the overall result can be improved when they hold back on the (metal-)genre-hopping a little and manage to tweak the style-mixing some more. It sometimes feels as if they’re not in sync at all times. The guys can take on metal, reggae, rap, ska and whatever style you can think of with relative ease and Binski has the multifunctional throat to support them doing so. They’re not even afraid to spice up epic songs, proving this by ending the album with the Bob Marley cover ‘Get Up, Stand Up’.

The other, probably most influential factor is the production that sadly is not helping here either. The sound is a bit thin here and there, resulting in the focus being drawn to the higher tones in those parts, leaving bass and drum lines in the shades. Also at times it feels as if they maxed out their equipment, like in ‘Gold Digger’ where the combination of riffs and high speed drums sounds kind of muffled, out of detail, making it hard to identify the separate instruments’ rhythm lines and keep track of the rhythm itself. The same happens in ‘In Lust’. A shame really, I’m curious to find out how it would sound without these production issues.

So to summarize the keyword for this release is ambivalence: both impressive and, at times, drowning in its diversity. There is no doubt Zeroscape has good musicians, a ditto vocalist and some pretty good ideas composition- and style-wise, but the over-diversity of styles combined with the somewhat poor production pretty much renders that underexposed. The fusion of seemingly incompatible styles turns out to be a surprisingly good idea, but it takes very precise tweaking both composition- and production-wise to get it just right and that’s where the guys have some work to do. If they can solve the production issues, tweak the abundant use of styles a bit and tune the mix some more, this really is a great concept with lots of potential. All this being said, I still enjoyed this release as it is, it has plenty of surprises to discover and for the most part the songs are solid, making it easier to overlook its flaws. Plus, they get bonus points for having the guts to mix styles that are in essence so far apart. No small feat. I suggest you judge for yourself and give these guys an honest chance.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Formed back in 2013, Boston-based symphonic metallers Seven Spires have toiled through the trenches cultivating an utterly rabid fanbase for their use of more extreme vocal stylings alongside the traditional classical opera-style vocals for the genre. After several early releases for the band, their full-length two-act debut album is released August 4, 2017 on SOAL.

Attempting to explore their own unique take, the group brings about a rather familiar yet still strikingly original take on the symphonic metal movement. On the surface, efforts like “Encounter,” “Choices” and “Stay” feature rather prominent chugging riff patterns, plenty of swirling melodic hooks from the dynamic keyboard-work and plenty of furious double-kick drum-beats that are all part and parcel to the format at play. Bringing along tight speed-metal patterns in the riffing gives them a sense of liveliness and energy, especially compared to the mid-tempo work elsewhere throughout efforts like “The Cabaret of Dreams,” “Closure” or “Serenity” which forsake the more metallic elements of their sound for operatic passages and plenty of strong vocal work in that regard. That does separate this one somewhat from most other efforts in the style with the ability to switch between soft soprano vocals and soaring operatic wails yet still able to maintain their deeper growls which pop up sporadically. Overall, there’s not much to dislike here unless you count the exhaustive running time with this one really lasting quite beyond what it should as there are way too many tracks here. Some of the weaker efforts in the second half could’ve easily been trimmed down and the interludes could’ve been eliminated altogether so this one doesn’t feel like a drag to get through which is the case here even though thankfully the tracks don’t really drag all that much. It’s the only aspect keeping this one down.

For a debut offering, this is clearly a strong and rather fun offering that only has some rather slight learning curves that can easily be ironed out in the future which makes this a rather promising act to look into for all fans of melodic female-fronted metal or those looking to expand their symphonic metal collections. 8.5/10

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Carrying forth with their own brand of violence, French black/death metallers Bliss of Flesh have once more utilized their obscure sound to finally offer the concluding branch of their conceptual trilogy concerning Dante’s Inferno. Following a five-year gap between releases, the group’s third full-length effort was originally released July 7, 2017 on Listenable Records.

From the onset, this one offers up plenty of strong and pounding work that carries their past glories into a grand stylistic explosion throughout here. Efforts like “Ascension,” “Penitent” and “Exercitus Caelorium” utilize rabid, pummeling tremolo riffing with plenty of harmonious melodies and blistering rhythms throughout here, giving the whole affair the charge and bite of the most vicious blackened offerings. The slightly calmer affairs such as “Agnus Dei” or the two-part title-track “Last Kingdom” and “Miserere Mei” offer the kind of variety that resigns itself into vicious bursts of blastbeats while slowing the ferocity down from the more ravenous extremes into a strong mid-tempo crunch with plenty of keyboard symphonics which add immensely during the slower sections. Given that the majority of the album rumbles along with these strong switch-ups between the thick, charging atmospheres and the slower sections, this gives the album a wholly enjoyable dynamic that also highlights the relatively dire lack of any real variety throughout here. Since hardly anything here actually differs much from each other, it’s hard to tell the tracks apart which is what’s supposed to happen in a concept album but really does bring this down when looking at it in terms of being heard separately out of that context. Likewise, the fact that there’s just not as much rabid blasting does offer a bit of a problem, but otherwise, there’s not a lot to dislike here.

Although it’s somewhat of a let-down in that there’s not much of a difference in the band’s music all that much, the fact that what is present is so much fun anyway that it offers up a serviceable and even downright engaging turn for those that have followed the band’s previous work or are fans of this style of black/death in general. 8/10

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Synopsys is a post-metal band from France.
The first thing that comes to mind when I think about French post-metal is the mighty Alcest.
I can assure you right here now at the start that this band draws heavily from Alcest.

For starters the album cover is a nice, attracting piece of art. It just draws your interest because there is no way to know what it is or what it stands for. It’s personal taste of course but I like the way of making the listener make his own interpretation of art.

Starting with a nice instrumental build up to the next song. I would have liked it if the song climaxed somewhere. I was waiting for it but it didn't happen. The remainder of the album has its ups-and-downs all over.

The main track for me is called “Into The Abyss”, the name says it already, it’s a journey like most songs on the album. You just start to wander off into the dark and you get lost. In a good fairytale you will be found of you find a way out yourself but this track takes you further. The journey doesn't end because you don't reach any destination. You just get more and more confused in the madness.

Overall a great album to dream off to. Although I found it a bit TOO much of an Alcest copy I enjoyed it because I like Alcest a lot. Great dreamy, even doomy album. Would recommend to regular listeners of post-metal but not to people new to the genre because it could be a somewhat hard listener introduction.

Sunday, August 6, 2017

Last year, German metallers Bulletrail released their EP The Path Of Least Resistance. Below you can read the interview DutchMetalManiac's Tim van Velthuysen did with Bulletrail's guitarist Chris.

Hey, how are you?

Hey, I´m great! Many things to do with the band and the planning for the next record. So I would say “as usual”. Hope you´re fine as well.

Bulletrail, what made it the right name for the band and, if there is a story behind it, what's behind it?

It was an idea our singer Billy came up with after we had no concrete name from the beginning. It sounded cool and everybody liked it. So that’s the whole story behind the name. Nothing special.

When someone haven't heard your music before and asks you what is sounds like, how would you describe Bulletrail's music?

For me it is always hard to find a comparable band. We have various influences like Devildriver, Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, Soulfly, Dark Tranquillity and Lamb of God to name a few known acts.

Everyone in the band has a different taste in music and brings that into the songwriting process. In that way we get most out of every idea. So I would describe it as a thrashy, deathy mix of the above.

You started in 2014 and in the early years you had a lot of lineup changes. Is the lineup of Bulletrail, as it is now, the lineup you want to keep?

Absolutely! The first two years we were just jamming most of the time in the rehearsal room. But for Billy and me that was not the way to go, so we decided to look for other musicians that shared the same goals as we did. Markus (the other guitarist) and I were playing in a band before Bulletrail. Sadly our drummer moved away so we decided to quit that band for that time. After that split I contacted Markus and asked him if he had any interests in playing with Bulletrail and so it was.

The search for a drummer was a bit more complicated. But to keep it short, we couldn´t be any luckier to have Daniel on board. He brings many interesting new elements and is a highly skilled drummer.

Randy, our bass player, was found by Billy and had the idea to contact Daniel. So it has come full circle.

Last year, you released The Path Of Least Resistance, what do you think the path of least resistance is? What's your message about it?

That is the opening track of the EP. I had an idea for the artwork which was dismissed, but the track was kept as title. It is a song about suicide. Not in a positive way, but from the view of the suffering one. I think most people that commit suicide have some form of depression which was long unnoticed by family and friends and without the help of them and a professional therapist it often can´t be handled. Sadly enough people still choose this way of ending their life.

How are audiences and press responding on The Path Of Least Resistance so far?

From the audience we had only positive feedback. The few reviews we got so far were also positive. So it seems to be the right way we are heading.

You recorded The Path Of Least Resistance in Maranis Studios, what made you decide it was the best place for it?

Well… We decided to record our first Ep and needed a studio. That’s it.

You are from Stuttgart and in September you are playing in Club Zentral in your hometown alongside Pentarium, Gefrierbrand and Dead Acid. Looking forward to it? How does it feel for you to play in your hometown?

It is great! We are looking forward to play more shows if possible in the Stuttgart region.

And hopefully we can find some people that like what we do. For us it´s the most important thing to have a great fanbase. It will be a fantastic gig with some cool bands. Also check them out if you haven´t yet.

How is the metalscene in Stuttgart?

Because of the Rockfabrik in Ludwigsburg, which is one of the longest lasting rock and metal clubs in Germany if I´m right, we have a good community in the Stuttgart area. Of course there is always some new people that come and last as long as the current trend is lasting, but the scene itself, I would say, is relatively strong and alive.

Besides your gig in Stuttgart, you have only announced one other gig in Brackenheim. Can we expect some more shows? Maybe in The Netherlands?

We hope to play many shows next year. If there is any opportunity to play a show in any other country it would be great. With the release of the coming full-length album we will play as many gigs as possible. If anybody needs a band for a festival or some shows, don´t hesitate to contact us.

You're already working on a full-length, right? Any details you can already tell us about it? What can fans expect?

That’s right. So far I can´t tell you anything concrete, we are still in the songwriting phase. Everything´s a secret for now.

Any other future plans for Bulletrail you can already tell?

Currently we are looking for a label. We are highly motivated to keep that thing going and therefore we want it to be a bit more professional.

Thanks for your answers! Is there anything you want to say to DutchMetalManiac's readers?

I want to say a big “THANK YOU!” to all our supporters so far! And if you have not yet heard of this crazy bunch of guys that makes weird noises with their instruments from the south west of Germany, search for us on any streaming platform out there. And if you want to support us, buy the record digitally or physically from us directly. We love what we do! And hopefully you too. Stay Metal!

Saturday, August 5, 2017

The Greek old school death metal trio Gravewards just formed last year, and released their first EP, entitled “Subconscious Lobotomy”, via cassette - limited to 300 copies.

Containing a total of 4 songs and 22 minutes total playtime, the EP kicks off with “Casket Entrapment”. A brutal, midtempo track that is the epitome of death metal. Production on this track, like the three others, is very raw, further underscoring the old school death metal vibe. Next up is the title track, which is again a brutal death metal one. You can clearly perceive the band’s influences by Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, Obituary and Death in their music. “Crawling Chaos” and “Deathwomb Incubation” are the other two tracks that maintain this line. Especially the latter stands out though with its even more brutal sound, inviting you to bang your head to it.

In conclusion: “Subconscious Lobotomy” is an old school death metal release – not only because of its form of release via cassette, but also because of its sound. The four tracks are a lot of fun to listen to, and you can clearly appreciate that the three guys are great musicians and love what they are doing. According to their Facebook page, the trio is working on a full-length right now, which personally I am greatly looking forward to. Until then, check out their EP! 9/10.

Friday, August 4, 2017

In April, Romanian depressive suicidal black metallers Katharos XIII released their full-length Negativity. Romanian atmospheric black metallers Argus Megere also released their latest full-length in April, it's called VEII. Below you can read the interview DutchMetalManiac's Tim van Velthuysen did with Fulmineos, leader of both bands.

Hey, how are you?

Hello, well a little bit tired by the heat as I just arrived from my vacation, not eager to get back to work, but a coffee will do and here we are…

You're in both Katharos XIII and Argus Megere, as well as some other bands. How do you combine being in those bands at the same time?

I work based on projects, it is easier this way, for example if I want to do an album with a band (I don’t plan them in advance)…it always starts with an idea based on something… I saw a beautiful tree in the forest, read a great book or stood too much at a line in the shopping mall, really the impulse/trigger can be really bizarre some times , then I select or complete a line-up that is somehow stable in every band I play with, present them the songs or ideas, we do a plan together (and agree – this is very important!) about concept, songs, deadlines for pre-production, studio time, mixing & mastering and then contact the label for a release plan/date and we put to work…it’s simple, like a modern project management…I had tones of approaches in the past(e.g. we all are friends and do everything together, democratic republicanism, encourage initiative and major responsibility for a process etc) and this one is by far the most effective. Also this tool we apply for other activities like tours, video stuff, buy gear or redecorating the rehearsal space etc.

About Katharos XIII, why is the band called this way?

I have a fascination for Cathars and their weird doctrine about this world, I read many books about their heretic behavior, and their major development was in the XIII century, so this is the link between the two entities of our name; “katharoi” means in Greek “the pure ones” so it has this complex approach to find the truth for yourself and inner self, and represent very well the whole idea behind the band.

In April, Katharos XIII released second full-length Negativity, what are the responses you get about it?

Very good, actually I was a little bit surprise to read such great reviews for a material that for me is quite old, but for the public is fresh so it is interesting (the songs were composed and recorded between 2012-2014); to see this duality and it feels good now anyway.

When you compare Negativity to your first full-length Dead Emotions (from 2011), what do you notice the most?

Certainly the sound has another production (not good or bad); the songs are in the same vein more or less but their structure is a little bit differed and also I would point out the lyrics, on “Dead Emotions” were more personal and introverted, on “Negativity” the focus is on so-called outside themes mainly.

Where does your inspirations for Katharos XIII come from?

Movies, books, personal experiences, life in general…

Can you explain what can be seen on the cover of Negativity and what's the story behind it?

It is the “Dark City” that cover us with its “Negativity”…the urban depressing life in the concrete empire, about everything that is “alive” but “lifeless” because of its artificial values, consumerism, everything should be posh, trendy, fashionable…about all this concepts this albums speaks, there is also an allegory and introspection, an analysis to speak the truth in front of the audience, are we the “story tellers” completely pure towards this or we embrace/accept “the capitalist values”?…because we buy from H&M, KFC, Starbucks and we use credit cards, go to Cinema Mall etc…so then are we the trv kvlt misanthropes that we dream of in the black metal underground?! Through the album there is a constant seeking for identity and in the end the listener finds some answers to think of if they are suitable or not.

The covers of Katharos XIII's Negativity as well as Argus Megere's VEII where designed by Alexandru Das, how did you met and what made you decide he was the right man for the job of both covers?

We know each other since many years, we grew up in the same city, we went on college together, played in a band back in the day, so he knows me very well, more or less we like the same music, art, movies…so whenever I have something in mind, I know Alexandru is the right person to visually give life of what I have in my mind and also put his personal input to the whole picture to make something unique.

Another band you're in is called Argus Megere, what does that name means and what made this the right choice?

It is based on a misanthropic concept, to be away from society, black metal as a form of art gives you freedom to be away from all classic responsibilities that you have daily. It blends perfect the ideology with the music, and it represents us really well.

As a root cause “Argus” is a monster with many eyes and “Megere” is an infernal fury…these two elements are like two milestones in our creative process all the time, leading us towards great wisdom and inspiration.

You recently released Argus Megere's third full-length, VEII, how do you look at it compared to A treia cale (2012) or even Solitar in straniu (2006)?

There are different approaches, from technical skills and sound quality there are huge differences, but if you listen them progressively you will find a nice development over the years, we have now better equipment, experience and knowledge to manipulate things in the studio and not be influenced by a producer how to mix and master a product, things are totally different on VEII…a more mature and complex understanding, on the old albums there is a raw and sincere atmosphere in opposition to what we have now, a conscious approach on every aspect of a release.

What is the story behind VEII and it's cover?

The story behind it is the measurement of time, and how the ancient Etruscan people made their rituals to celebrate this, there are some letter-play in the title, and as a result VEII emerged, and this used to be their ancient capital city.

In Argus Megere you sing in Romanian, while in Katharos XIII lyrics are mostly in English, was this something you chose for or did it just go that way?

Well I had to choose as my band mate for over twenty years in Argus Megere, Agerul Pamantului, cannot sing properly in English…on the first demo in ’97 we had some songs in English, but I was doing solely the vocals, then when he decided to do also vocals for the band, we changed only to Romanian to be comfortable for him…but really for me it is ok to sing in English, Romanian, German, Latin…and even a little bit of Czech…

What do you think about lyrics in foreign language versus lyrics in English?

I don’t see any problem, when I was a teenager it was quite fun to translate lyrics from Master’s Hammer, Ulver, Satyricon…when someone is really interested in this topic, the language barrier it’s not something that should be a handicap.

How do you work on new tracks? Do you first write them and later decide for which band, or do you decide first and then start writing?

When I write I kinda already know, because even unconscious the style of composing for each band is different, and in most cases I write a whole concept, even there are sketches and afterwards I keep revisiting the compositions until everything takes shape for a serious recording in the studio. But as I said earlier I write only if I have something to say not because I have to, if there is nothing at the horizon it can take ten years before recordings and then…bum! Like I composed the last Ordinul Negru album, in one weekend at my cabin in Apuseni mountains.

And also I learn that is better to make a preproduction first with all ideas to get a really good view before doing something serious recordings (it saves a lot of money also!).

Can we expect some touring from any of your bands? Maybe a show in The Netherlands?

I really don’t know, it depends on the offers, Katharos XIII these days is very much disintegrated by many personal problems that the guys have in their lives and I don’t know what are their priorities in case we have a touring offer.

With Argus Megere we will do a small tour in autumn with a few selected dates and we have to see if we can arrange something in The Netherlands, as the clubs there are really cool (I played many times with another band I was in, Negura Bunget).

Any future plans you can already tell us a bit about?

With Argus Megere we will release a box set this autumn (our first three albums and demos, unreleased and reworked tracks), and will start planning on an animated clip for a song from VEII-album with a studio from Bucharest (this will be a very big and expensive project) but it will be released next year.

Katharos XIII as I said is very volatile, I worked at nine new songs and we have booked the studio for autumn, we will have to see who will be able to play on it or I will have to hire session members for this new album.

You are from Romania, how is the metalscene there?

With a lot of potential but ruined by the economic and legal instability, for example my band mate, Agerul Pamantului owns for a few years now, Daos Club in Timisoara-a well established club in Romania and Eastern Europe- but recently the legal conditions changed so drastically that he had to reduce his activity because of stupid requirements, or Rockstadt Club in Brasov was closed down and even they did all the papers for the new legal requirement they are still not allowed to open; so in this climate for the bands is very hard to function and play in decent conditions because the very few decent clubs are having so many problems...

Any bands from Romania, besides Katharos XIII and Argus Megere of course, you recommend to listen to?

I like very much the scene with whom I grew up in the nineties, bands like Wiccan Rede, Grimegod, Cronos, Disinter, Psycho Symphony…nowadays Bucovina is the biggest and well established band in Romania, also there are a few interesting ones like The Thirteenth Sun, Dordeduh, Gothic, Indian Fall, White Walls.

Thanks for your answers! Is there anything you want to say to DutchMetalManiac's readers?